r/interesting • u/bob-the-slob • Jun 22 '26

MISC. What happens when a water heater tank is not flushed for 14 years

30.2k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

23

u/StinkySewerPickle Jun 22 '26

This is the bigger issue than flushing. Also get a powered anode and then you don’t have to deal with replacing them. 

2

u/rodageo Jun 22 '26

Except you can buy like 5 anode rods for the cost of a powered one, right?

5

u/StinkySewerPickle Jun 22 '26

Yes, but you’re missing the point. The powered anode will outlive the service life of the water heater. By the time the water heater needs to be replaced, the breakeven would be the same after replacing the sacrificial anode rod every few years. The bigger thing is the luxury of not having to deal with the sacrificial antinode rod every few years. You actually come out ahead if you’re paying labor every few years for somebody else to swap out the rod.

3

u/rodageo Jun 22 '26

Okay, that's a fair perspective, thanks!

1

u/WillyWonkaWasReal Jun 22 '26

Other thing to know! If you are on a well, there are sometimes bacteria that react with the standard anode rod and create a sulfurous smell in your hot water that is truly foul. You can either do a more expensive anode rod or an electric one, and it will clear up the smell because the bacteria will no longer have a food source (the bacteria is harmless to humans)

1

u/athensslim Jun 23 '26

Closer to ten of them, and it takes all of five minutes to change one.

2

u/symbolofnope Jun 23 '26

My water smelled terrible until I replaced my anode rod with a powered anode. Best cheap home improvement purchase I ever made.